The Traditions of Men

 

Arriving at 1 Thessalonians 5 In this the apostle Paul urges the saints to reorganize those who labored among them. Dealing with  “problem brothers: included the unruly with irresponsible behavior, to comfort the faint-hearted, to uphold the weak: those who are spiritually weak and give support to those weak in the faith…….and of course to be patient with all.

So for verse 19 to quench the spirit meant to stifle the work of the Holy Spirit. Limiting Him is stifling Him. Adhering to the traditions of men is stifling the Holy Spirit. Keeping up with man-made rules is stifling Him.

The Holy Spirit should have full access through our spiritual frame. Giving of praise, being prayerful, being thankful and the teachable keeps us in that justice of God and lights our way into His truth keeping and to avoid evil.  

1.          When you are filled with the Holy Spirit there is a divine guidance system that comes with the package. Learning how to cooperate with Him to recognize His voice and avoid the subtle deception of the enemy takes time, but there are distinct principles (or clicks) that we can learn to quickly distinguish. (Jesus spoke of this in Mark 7:8, Paul wrote of deceptive empty philosophy found in Colossians 2:8, Jesus rebukes the religious ones on the tradition of ceremonial cleaning by washing, and this in Mark 7:9 to Jesus rebuked them for rejecting the commandment of God in order to  establish their tradition!)

2.            Those refusing not only the words of Christ, are today refusing those of the Father as well.  Mark 7:13…making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.  In the Jewish tradition there had arised a thing called  “Corban” meaning that even though Jewish parents might be in great need. Their son having money to care for them, but did not do it, but spoke “Corban” that his money was dedicated to God or to the temple. This relieved him of his responsibility of supporting his parents. Whether this money was moved into temple use was not an issue or important. This was wrong, men violating under the cloak of religion were committing a rebellious act against God.

3.          Easton's Bible Dictionary states that a person could not reclaim anything designated as Corban. Jesus hated this practice of the Pharisees, as their traditions in this area nullified God's commandment that children should honor their parents. Their man-made teaching gave people an excuse for not helping their father or mother. It also, at the same time, offered them the opportunity to use such designated good for their own selfish use. Love: the Flesh kind of love is selfish, & exact opposite God wants to transform people. Those who live by faith do not live by the flesh in nicotine waves of delight nor take another man’s wife or speak profanity! Yielding to Him—God is building character based on outgoing love.

4.          Titus 1:14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. Mark 7:9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. Again from 1 John 4:6 NKJV 6  We are of God . He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth & the spirit of error. We are not to live in world of religious fantasies & of rules. From that given in Titus 1:14 any rules or fantasies centering around the observance of days or the avoidance of ceremonies because of defilement, Paul wrote in Colossians 2:23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, & neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Astrology, witchcraft, oppossers of truth……………False systems fail. The practices of man’s own religion is one of false humility, their self-denial is achieved in higher holiness as seen in Hinduism and other mystical religions of the East. Flesh will never merit God’s favor. Flesh has passions and lusts: sexual immorality with hindering spirits of manipulation for selfish control, it includes anything done or said in obscenity.  

Idolatry: worshiping as in adultery, as in astrology, to the forms of witchcraft and every familiar spirit. Flesh engages in alcohol: affecting mind, looking for freedom in a bottle when only Jesus can set us free. Flesh takes nicotine, the smell of tobacco and smoke, the addiction people love where they light up at their will not God’s will. They call it “ their nerve tonic” to calm themselves when in truth they are adding fire to their nerves, adding loss to their brain cells, creating a major highway on their face and call it a nerve tonic!       

 Drug addiction to the flesh creature is a way to get high in a number of ways. But one way is to be relieved of pain in their bodies. Be relieved of back pain, be relieved of the nightmares they carry from a major military deployment.

But any worldly wisdom of the world is bad! James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy & self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. The Lord Jesus is the embodiment of true wisdom. The meek and lowly in heart: the hallmark of the genuine humility is he who is truly wise.

Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error: There is coding being done today! Coding formation for a format, a way to produce for a purpose that is false, for a foundation of a new reset without God. It has nothing to do with truth and will bring one to the wrong place and to the wrong end.

IN  Isaiah 5 the prophet Isaiah prophesied in the first woe of covetous land owners who try to corner the real estate market till there is an acute shortage of houses and land, yet the owners dwell in solitary splendor.     The second woe was this: confirmed alcoholics who would feast morning to night carousing in total disregard to God and His works.  The third woe was of the brazen liars and God-defiers who are hitched to sin and drag guilt and punishment after them. They challenged God to hasten with the punishment He has threatened on them.  A haughtiness……The fourth woe: those who obliterate moral distinctions. Denying the difference between good and evil. Isaiah 5: 20 Therefore, Isaiah prophesied the fourth woe, saying: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet/ sweet for bitter.

1.            We see career minded criminals let go at every deed of evil, but the good are thrown in jails and prisons.  In the Code of Ethics: In the 4th  woe, there is the concern of willful confusion of the standards of right/ wrong. They had no real code of ethics. What they did have is a false code; they called evil good / good evil. They confuse darkness for light and light for darkness; they mistake bitter for sweet /sweet for bitter.

2.            In the code of the Moral: The morale code had been rewritten. People no longer felt guilty when they acted in ways that once were considered immoral. One person’s sweet was another person’s bitter. Personal tastes and situational ethics ruled the day. It was reminiscent of the days of the judges where Isra'el had no king and everyone did as they saw fit (Judges 21:25b).

The fifth woe is one that consisted of conceited men who cannot be told anything. They are always right about everything!  The sixth woe: Judges who are heroes at drinking and who pervert justice through accepting bribes.  Isaiah 5:24-25 NKJV Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, & the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, & their blossom will ascend like dust; because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them & stricken them. And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets.

The traditions of Men nullify the Word of God and hurt you!  Empty rituals and customs hold no power or  significance in the Kingdom of God. They are the man-made rules and regulations that focus on the outward appearances and adherence to legalistic practices rather than the transformation of the heart by Holy Spirit. Traditions of men will cause stumbling blocks to true faith and hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Jesus Himself rebuked religious leaders of His time for their emphasis on traditions and neglect the weightier matters of  the law, such as justice, mercy and faithfulness.

We only get guidance of the Holy Spirit in discernment and embracing the traditions that truly honor and glorify our God! Be anchored in the truth of God. It is truly the Holy Spirit Who will guide us into all truth and help us discern between genuine biblical principles and the doctrines of men. Our faith is to be in Jesus Alone!

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Nursery Rhymes and Dire Straits

Be cautious what you chase after.....you might get into dire straits!

Was hearing of the people this weekend who remembered and spoke of those nursery rhymes of given traditions in these United States of America....."now I  lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take"! 

You may have heard of them of your youth if you find yourself as old as me! And yes, that would certainly take you back decades if your parents related those teachings to you. Some might say they never heard it. But my question would be: "did your parents not speak to you about Jesus?" 
For by tradition, many books were handed down with nursery rhymes and poems to be spoken to children. Many story books held that of that "cow that jumped over the moon"! My question was "who let that cow out of the barn?"

Of course, we know there is no power in those words that are written as fantasy and fairy tales. You might have faith in them, but that is a belief from tradition and is fractured indeed! And many people have faith in their traditions! But after many decades of doing those traditional things, they find they do them without even thinking why they continue to do them when they bring no life to the observance of them!

One such lady I thought of in this writing, was a woman that never knew why her mother cut their super-size turkey in half for roasting at Thanksgiving. She saw her mother do it and so she did it as well!
In her later years, and children grown, they joined her mother again for a Thanksgiving meal and the mother told her she only did that when the woman now grown was a child of about six years old. She said, "if you remember we lived in a two bedroom apartment and there were five us living there. And the oven only held half-of-the-bird. So I had to cut it in pieces to fit it in that small apartment type oven.
But today, you have no issues. All the appliances should hold that 20 pound turkey with no problems! So all those years, the grown woman had continued to cut her turkey in half to prepare it like she had observed as a six year old girl!


In thinking about this and praying the last two days on this, I was reminded of Luke 24:5.
Why do you seek the living among the dead? This was angels speaking to those women who came to the tomb of Jesus. Verse 4 of Luke 24 reads : And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold two men stood by them in shining garments. And the angels continued to speak in verse 6: "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee. Verse 7: "saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"

Jesus certainly was put in a tomb, but He left it like He said He would do! What Jesus spoke had power in those words!

Matthew 15:1-20 NKJV Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." 3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 " For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother' and 'He who curses father or mother; let him be put to death.' 5 "But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother,' "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God."-----6 'then he need not honor his father or mother.'Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"10 When He had called the multitude to Himself. He said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth , this defiles a man."
Matthew 15: 12 Then His disciples came and said to him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" 13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." 15 Then Peter answered and said to him, "Explain this parable to us." 16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17 'Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication's, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

We should be beware of those who teach religious traditions over the word of God. And those who so seriously teach things whether from Atzec Indians from how many hundreds of years ago to prove it is not common to one country but to another and still leave God Almighty out of it! Seriously speaking, God sent His Son, that Son of His great love to die on the Cross for each of us. It does not matter what country, what skin color or what language, Jesus died for mankind. Yet many still want to prove their right and the other person is wrong, and all are on their way to hell. YIKES!
And today we see people setting these things up in schools and elsewhere, yet it has nothing to do with reading, writing, or learning mathematics. And it certainly has nothing to do with the history of this nation. 

For certainly worship of the heart has to be from a heart that loves God, whose Son is Jesus, whose Holy Spirit is with us to guide us in our daily walk with Him. This is not about some spiritual guide who lived thousands of years ago to lead you down that path that has the aroma of death, stinks like sulfur and appears as a fire on a horizon not too far from your pathway.

In Jesus is light and life. Without Him, you and I can do nothing! And be cautious of building altars to worship the dead. We are to build an altar within our heart, within our homes and that is found in a heart that loves Him, reveres Him and seeks to have that constant connection with Him.
Forsake any display of religion that is done primarily for man's approval. Pray and ask the Lord for His guidance that you not be succored into mindless things the enemy tries to use to gain people's time just for wasting it.

If your are spending time with people who dearly love to build altars to the dead, find new friends. We love our family members while they exist. We do not talk with them after they pass on. YOU do that and you will find yourself talking with demons. We are to seek life among the living. We are to know God as our highest priority. If we are looking at death all the time, then what is the condition of our heart? For prayer should be for the living not the those who already passed onto to life or death!

I certainly remember my paternal grandmother on her birthday. I remember how we loved to sew and create with fabrics and crochet thread. I remember she quilted for many years but I do not pray for her today. I loved that she loved eating hamburgers like I did, but I do not pray for her today. That time passed when she passed. What she gave to the Lord in her time on this earth is set. There is no changing it now!

My husband and I always drive by a cemetery on our way to the visit our children in the next county over from us. I do not pray for those who lie there in those coffins, but I do pray for those who do the upkeep of the grounds. And I do pray for those who may remain alive today who might have laid a loved one in a box in that cemetery. I also pray their lives would prove to be fruitful for the kingdom of God and not for the sake of tradition created by man himself.

James 3:16 tell us this: For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. We should never desire to want to hand our purity to a physical or spiritual seducer. Our salvation depended on Jesus and His trip to the Cross when He would die for man-kind. He did not shrink from death but He shrank from the thought of sin. He knew what it did to man-kind!

Proverbs 4:1 Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding; 2 for I give you good doctrine;

Proverbs 5:7 Therefore hear me now my children, & do not depart from the words of my mouth.;

Proverbs 7:24-26 NKJV Now therefore listen to me, my children pay attention to the words of my mouth 25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths; 26 For she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men.  

Every living person who knows God should be willing to take another look at “therefore”…for here it means because immorality leads people of any age to be mounted like a head on wall, to be trapped in a cage, to be stuffed, or snared.....that is dangerous indeed!. Romans 8:12-13 NKJV 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors----not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.    

Godly purity stands in stark contrast to the social standards that a culture sets for a couple, for a family or for the individual! Are we chasing the next big thing that amounts to wasted time? We could look like the squirrel on the teacup trying to reach for something that is wrong and unsafe for us!

The covenant with God is loyalty as it is with the couple. We have the Holy Spirit of promise and His guidance is to be living for God with embattlements of silver to fortify that wall for we will speak words of Wisdom, have on the breastplate of righteousness having shod our feet with the gospel of peace wherewith we use the shield of our faith to stand offensively in prayer to engage in the battle of those strongholds that a culture can present.

Sustained by the Holy Spirit you and I can glorify God according to His will to see His kingdom come. Being jealous for the Lord, is revering Him and staying in that intimacy that marks that we are sealed by His Spirit rising in power for purpose that glorifies God in all our relationships, both young and old!

It is time to put away childish things and live for God in the power of His might! Amen!

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